Sunday, June 13, 2021

A Love Letter For the Ages; 2 John 1:1-6

 

Rev. George Miller

June 13, 2021

2 John 1:1-6

 

Today we encounter an intimate letter; a love letter.  A letter from a man of sophistication to a certain lady and her children.

 

But who is this lady; who are her kids?

 

No one knows the answer, so for 2,000 years there has been speculation.

 

Is the lady in question a real flesh and blood woman, a matriarch who has a family to care for?

 

Is the lady in question actually a term of endearment for a non-human entity?

 

Such as how we call boats and cars “she” and we think all dogs are “he.”

 

If this is the case, the lady in question may be the church the author is writing to, and the children are its members.

 

Or is the lady in question a real flesh and blood woman who also happens to be the head of a church, and that “children” can refer to her actual kids, her staff, and her membership?

 

Could the answer be “yes” to all 3 at the same time? 

 

It’s possible, as many of the early churches took place in the homes of wealthy women, some who were widows.

 

We don’t know the answer, but what we do know is that here we have a love letter, a faith-based love letter.

 

“The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth… because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever.”

 

Wow.

 

How romantic.  

 

To the lady I love in truth.

 

It sounds like a letter written in WW2 from a soldier to his beloved back home as she rations her groceries and draws an imaginary hosiery line up the back of her calf.

 

It sounds like a letter Martin could have written Coretta while in Birmingham.

 

To think that before e-mails and text messages and smiley face emojis that people used to write this way.

 

So eloquent.  So powerful.  So full of poetic love.

 

“To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth.”

 

It feels as if no more words are needed to be said.  That we can just bask here in the beauty of the message.

 

Lady.  Love.  Truth.

 

What makes this even more beautiful is understanding what the author means when he says “truth.”

 

He is not referring to fact.  He is not referring to yes or no.  He is not referring to 1 plus 1 equal 2.

 

When the author refers to truth, he is referring to one reality- Jesus Christ.

 

For the composer of today’s love letter, Jesus is the truth. 

 

For the composer of today’s love letter, truth is the Christian force that empowers us to love.

 

So, when he says he loves this lady in truth, when he says he loves her and her children because truth abides in them, it becomes even more powerful.

 

This is not love tied solely to circumstance. 

 

This is not love solely tied to lust. 

 

This is not love that is shackled to forced conditions or false expectations.

 

This is love that is rooted in Jesus.

 

This is love watered by Christ.

 

This is love tied to the nutrients of loving God and loving neighbor.

 

This is a love that’s meant to be lush, to be green, and to produce much, much fruit.

 

“To the elect lady and her children.”

 

Imagine if you personally received this letter.  Imagine if you were to hold it in your hand.  How would you feel? 

 

What would you think?  How would you behave?

 

If Jesus is your truth and the truth abides in you, how does that shape the way you act?

 

How does that shape the words you say?

 

How does that shape the decisions you make?

 

Here we get to ask, “What does a Christian look like? What are the fruits a Christian bares?”

 

The author is overjoyed that there are those who walk and act in such a way that folk can tell they are a Christian. 

 

He gives thanks that this household is making decisions and doing things that show how much they care for one another.

 

He gives thanks that people are not just talking about it, but they are walking in it. 

 

They’re not just saying it; they are showing it.

 

Because it’s one thing to say “I love you.”  It’s a whole other thing to show that I love you.

 

Today’s reading is short and sweet because what it has to say, it says so well-

 

That if we believe in Christ, if we have truly let him in, then we will act, and we will live, and we will love in such a way that it is seen.

 

We love, and we love from the Christ that is within,

 

-the Christ who walked with us,

-the Christ who ate with the unpopular kids at school,

-the Christ who welcomed,

-the Christ who created space for those who were deemed not good enough.

 

It is the Spirit that has brought us together.  It is in God that our hope comes.  It is Christ that we are united.

 

We are all Ladies and Gentleman; we are all Children of the Lord.

 

We all have the ability to walk with the Truth inside us, in such a way that all the world can see, and the world can say “They, they are what a Christian looks like.”

 

For that let us say “Amen.”

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